by Mary Wine
“But I can’t make out the dimension gates. You said that root ball restructured my eyes. Why aren’t they working?”
Bion looked at Lykos instead of answering. Sophia’s eyes narrowed behind the pair of dark purple glasses she had perched on her nose.
“Don’t you dare side with him, Lykos Claxton. I have to needle every bit of information out of him. It’s shameful, really. These are my eyes.” She stood and walked toward one of the large viewing windows.
“I recall that feeling myself,” Janette muttered.
Lykos lifted his hands in mock surrender. “I am not responsible. You are Darius’s problem.”
“Trust a man to call a woman’s questions a problem,” Decima remarked. She was leaning against a support beam. She sent a glare toward Lykos, who returned it.
“Good night,” she muttered before Lykos could answer her.
“Now, just wait—”
Decima turned her back on Lykos. His lips thinned, and no one at the table missed it.
“Go on,” Bion offered. “I’ll babysit our foundling Navigator.”
Sophia heard him and turned in a flare of her skirts. Janette tugged on Darius’s hand.
“What’s the hurry?” he demanded.
“Trust me, this is not going to end well,” Janette answered as she tugged him way toward the passenger cabins. “Sophia is a redhead masquerading as a blond. Bion is about to be skinned alive.”
“He might enjoy it. The man has the heart of a pirate.” Darius produced a key and opened the cabin for her.
“Then again, maybe you were simply impatient to be alone with me,” he said as she passed into the room.
Janette sighed as he closed the door. “There you go again, Mr. Lawley, making assumptions on how I feel. Haven’t you learned your lesson?”
She opened her top, revealing the swell of her breasts above the edge of her corset. His dark gaze followed her fingertip as she stroked one soft mound.
“I stand before you a reformed man, madam.” He deposited his overcoat and vest on the wall hook before shrugging out of his chest harness. “But I confess I am still a needy one. Tell me again how you feel because I’m failing to believe it.”
“Rogue,” she accused. “You are supposed to mutter endearments in my ear, to earn my surrender. Not beg for compliments to shine your ego.”
His shirt followed, and her breath caught, desire rising up to fill her mind. She enjoyed its slow burn, feeling no shame, only a sense of rightness.
Her husband propped his hands on either side of her, pressing his palms against the wall.
“I love you.” He pressed a kiss against her neck. “I adore you.” Another kiss landed on the opposite side of her throat. “But most importantly, I thank you for proving me wrong—and that, Miss Aston, is the greatest compliment I have ever paid anyone.”
“I believe you.” She slid her hands along the warm column of his throat, shivering as sensation rippled along her arms and down her body. “And I love you.”
Neither of them noticed when they went through the dimension gate. They were both far too busy enjoying the perfection of each other’s embrace. Janette snuggled against her lover, basking in the glow of his declaration.
Perfection.
***
Sophia didn’t sleep; she wandered around the dining area of the airship well after it was deserted by the other passengers.
It wasn’t the pain in her eyes that kept her awake, although it was more of an annoying itch now. Keeping her hands away from her face took concentration, and she’d woken up more than once with tears on her hands because impulse took over once she was asleep.
Her father needed her—that was the thought hounding her.
“You need rest to heal.”
She turned to see Bion moving toward her. The man was too large for her liking, his shoulders too wide. “What I need is for you to stop shadowing me like some nursemaid. Where do you think I will go?”
Sophia opened her hands to indicate the inside of the airship passenger area. The engines droned with a low rumble, while outside the windows, the clouds let in slivers of moonlight.
“I was hoping you’d get some sleep, so I could as well,” he muttered too softly for her caring.
“Save your pity.”
Everyone could save their coddling and sympathy. It turned her stomach. She turned to brush past Bion, seeking escape from his presence, when he reached out and captured her wrist. Without a glove, his hand wrapped around the tender skin, sending a jolt of awareness up her arm.
“You mistake me greatly,” he informed her firmly. “Pity is the last thing I feel for you.”
There was a strength in his words she was tempted to lean on. Her life was suddenly shattered into pieces, and she wasn’t sure how to sweep them up or put them back together again. But she would muster her courage; she had to or risk becoming one of those delicate creatures she and Janette had always deplored.
“Good. Excellent.” She pulled her hand away and walked toward her cabin. But she felt Bion watching her. Of course, it was only because he was duty-bound to watch her. There could be no other reason. She rubbed at her wrist, trying to erase the feeling of his skin against hers.
There was no other reason for his presence. None.
***
“I swear to uphold the laws of the Order, to defend its ideals and maintain my duty.”
The inner chamber of the Solitary Chamber was brightly lit, and Janette waited for the three Marshals to accept her pledge. Tonight, she’d take her Oath and become an Illuminist.
“Upon my honor, I swear to maintain secrecy, even if it should cost my life.”
There was a nod and then another and at last a third before applause filled the room. She stood, her knees aching just a tiny amount before she was distracted by the middle Marshal standing up. He moved toward her, carrying a gold Illuminist pin. Excitement rippled through her, but what she noticed most was the sense of achievement. It was like a candle flame burning brightly inside her. For the first time in her life, she had set a goal and earned an honor that was entirely her own. In spite of her gender, she was an Illuminist because she had chosen to be.
Her husband stepped up as the pin was placed on the lapel of her vest. The satisfaction in his eyes had nothing to do with her hereditary ability—it was because he loved her. She could see it in his eyes, and she loved him even more for standing in the place of her spouse during the ceremony. That was love. It didn’t have conditions or boundaries. That’s what made it perfection. They respected each other as individuals, as Illuminists.
“Welcome to the Order, Janette Lawley. Turn and be recognized by your peers.”
Her mother stood watching, a gold pin on her lapel too. Professor Yulric applauded with more force than his frail arms looked capable of, while Galene dabbed at her eyes with a lace-edged handkerchief.
“Happy?” Darius asked her softly.
“Beyond my wildest dreams, husband.”
He sent her a promising look that made her smile before she walked back to her seat. She was going to ensure he made good on his promise, too.
About the Author
Mary Wine is a multipublished author in romantic suspense, fantasy, and Western romance. Her interest in historical reenactment and costuming also inspired her to turn her pen to historical romance with her popular Highlander series. She lives with her husband and sons in Southern California, where the whole family enjoys participating in historical reenactment.
Lessons After Dark
by Isabel Cooper
Author of No Proper Lady, a Publishers Weekly and Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A woman with an unspeakable past
Olivia Brightmore didn’t know what to expect when she took a position to teach at Englefield School, an academy for “gifted” children. But it wasn’t having to rescue a young girl who’d levitated to the ceiling. Or battling a dark mystery in the surrounding woods. And nothing could have prepa
red her for Dr. Gareth St. John.
A man of exceptional talent
He knew all about her history and scrutinized her every move because of it. But there was more than suspicion lurking in those luscious green eyes. Olivia could feel the heat in each haughty look. She could sense the desire in every touch, a spark that had nothing to do with the magic of his healing abilities. Even with all the strange occurrences at the school, the most unsettling of all is the attraction pulling her and Gareth together with a force that cannot be denied.
For more Isabel Cooper, visit:
www.sourcebooks.com